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For reasons he could not explain, the name came out of his mouth instinctively, even though it had existed for less than ten minutes.
"Yes, Jimmy Halstead," he said firmly, as if convincing himself, "that is my name."
With that, Jimmy stopped Yinsen and pushed him toward the rear exit, urging him to run.
Before Tony could say anything, the distinct thunder of an M2 heavy machine gun erupted outside, followed by a continuous roar of gunfire.
Jimmy was completely unleashed out there.
The sheer power of the weapon was intoxicating, every burst tearing through enemies with brutal efficiency, one shot breaking bodies apart, two shots turning them into fragments.
Combined with his feral senses, it was overwhelming.
Even enemies hiding behind corners could not escape his awareness, he could feel their presence, their intent, even the moment a gun barrel lined up with his body, his skin reacting instantly, every nerve screaming danger.
At that moment, Jimmy could not help but curse Logan internally.
With talent like this, why charge in headfirst.
With these senses, anyone could be a marksman, the kind who could dodge bullets on instinct.
Why rush straight into gunfire like a man who did not feel pain.
A soft impact brushed his abdomen.
In the chaos of gunfire, it was barely noticeable, but Jimmy felt it clearly.
He had been hit.
It did not hurt much, just a strange mix of warmth, numbness, and a faint itch, like the sting of a tattoo needle, unsettlingly stimulating.
Jimmy shook his head hard, forcing the thought away, that kind of reaction had no business existing in his mind.
The recoil of the M2 was as violent as Tony had warned, but compared to Jimmy, the weapon was the one struggling.
He planted his feet, stepped out from cover, pressed the barrel downward with his left hand, gripped the handle with his right, braced the frame against his waist, then squeezed the trigger.
The M2 roared again.
Inside the cave, Tony and Yinsen finally exhaled in relief.
"That big guy actually knows what he is doing," Tony muttered, "charging with an M2, how much progress do we have left."
"Almost there," Yinsen replied, "almost."
Outside, Jimmy leaned out again, only for a rocket to streak toward him.
At the same time, a full firing line appeared ahead, rifles raised, bullets pouring toward him in unison.
Jimmy squeezed the trigger again.
Nothing.
The hollow click of an empty chamber echoed back.
Out of ammo.
That figured.
He had fought his way this far already.
Jimmy grabbed the overheated barrel, swung it around the corner with all his strength, and hurled it forward, more than a hundred pounds of metal tearing through the air like a wrecking ball.
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"Rat tat tat."
The grease guns opened up, both of them firing together.
The stop and start of the gunfire made the wait inside unbearable, Tony staring at the progress bar while muttering under his breath, "come on, come on, come on."
Yinsen picked up a fallen rifle. "I should go check on Jimmy."
"It is done," Tony suddenly said.
A deep hum filled the cave.
Every light cut out at once, followed by a surge of white blue energy igniting in the chest of the crude metal suit.
"Yinsen," Tony said quickly, "I am going to help the big guy, clear the area, then you follow."
Metal plates slammed together.
The iron man was born.
Clumsy, heavy, and powerful.
"Clang, clang, clang."
At this stage, the suit lacked finesse, even a door Jimmy had casually closed proved impossible to open normally.
There was only one solution.
Brute force.
The metal door burst open.
From the darkness emerged a towering figure of steel, a glowing core blazing in its chest.
No one knew what Tony was thinking, when he slammed one armored arm into the rock wall beside him, only for it to get stuck.
"Big guy, you are still not tomato paste," Tony laughed, "you just saved me the cost of a grave, not that I am hurting for money."
Jimmy looked him over. "Tin man, look at you right now, you are like a turtle flipped by a wave, wedged into a rock and unable to turn over."
"See, this is why I hate big guys," Tony muttered as he struggled and finally yanked his arm free.
"Get behind me, big guy, this is the safest place you are going to find."
"Move," Jimmy shouted, "they have armor-piercing rounds."
Fortunately, armor-piercing rounds were painfully slow in Jimmy's eyes; he grabbed a grease gun and hurled it forward.
The explosion shook the passage.
Tony froze for half a second.
If that round had hit him, he would not have survived. The metal was decent, but nowhere near strong enough to tank armor-piercing fire.
Jimmy grinned. "See, Tin Man, I saved you again."
"No, stop calling me that," Tony snapped, "it is Tony, Tony Stark, remember the name."
He glanced forward. "You are out of ammo, right, then it is my turn to charge."
Jimmy stayed close behind Tony, picked up a rifle from the ground, then grabbed a heavy combat knife, gave it a quick test swing, and nodded.
As for the claws, he kept them hidden, this world had organizations that hunted things like that, Hydra especially.
He fought dirty.
Ambush shots, sudden slashes, thrown stones, anything that worked.
If someone aimed at him, he slipped behind Tony. If they were pinned down by Tony's firepower, Jimmy stepped out and fired.
With Tony drawing all the attention, Jimmy cut through the battlefield with ease, pushing steadily toward the exit.
Outside, a group of enemies waited with rocket launchers already raised.
No need to guess what kind of warheads those were.
Tony hesitated.
That was bad.
Jimmy, however, had already gathered several grenades. He glanced outside, kicked off the cave wall, and launched himself forward.
Midair, the grenades flew.
Some detonated rockets before launch. Others landed directly inside ammunition crates.
Explosions chained together.
Jimmy landed behind a massive boulder, sensing movement, then crushed the ambusher hiding there with a single kick, driving the man's head straight into his chest.
"Jimmy," Tony shouted in panic, "you idiots."
The firepower was overwhelming. With explosions like that, even Iron Man would have been torn apart, let alone a man Tony had known for less than an hour.
Yet somehow, Tony felt it.
This strange man had never treated him like a billionaire.
And he clearly knew who Tony was.
Tony still did not know where Jimmy had come from. Earlier, when Tony had turned toward the corner, Jimmy had already been there, dry heaving on the ground, even though seconds before that space had been empty, the cave had only held Tony and Yinsen.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
As the enemies scrambled to reload, Tony stepped forward and revealed himself fully.
The first wave of rockets was gone. What remained were gunmen.
Tony activated something.
Twin jets of flame burst outward, blinding the enemy and igniting nearby ammunition.
Bullets flew, grenades detonated, screams echoed.
Jimmy cursed under his breath and turned back toward the cave because he saw it: a crate of artillery shells already burning.
"Move, move, move," Jimmy shouted, "that lunatic is setting off fireworks outside."
Jimmy grabbed Yinsen as he emerged and dragged him deeper into the cave, sprinting for cover.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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